With the celebration of Independence Day people often talk about freedom. Freedom is often thought of in terms of your country, democracy, etc. But is that really freedom?

Freedom can represent something different to each person.

Let me give some examples:

A person in prison would consider freedom being outside prison walls.

A person living in a dictatorship longs to live in a country that is democratic.

A homeless person might consider freedom having a roof over their head.

A sick person would consider freedom not having an illness.

A person who is financially broke might consider freedom having money to pay their bills.

A person in an abusive marriage would consider freedom being divorced.

Every person looks at freedom differently. True freedom comes from within you. I know you have heard this before, but it is true. There are people who are in prisons that still keep that freedom inside of their soul.

I always find the movie the “Shawshank Redemption” to be a good example of how a person holds onto hope and freedom inside of their soul despite the outward realities. The character Andy Dufresne is imprisoned for twenty years, yet inside of himself he holds on to hope of being a free man. He does not express this to anyone, but deep inside of him he makes a resolution that he will obtain freedom. It takes time and eventually he does become a free man once again.

There are people that are bedridden that still have freedom inside their spirit despite the fact that they cannot function their physical body. As a bedridden person I have a continual battle inside of myself to maintain the spirit of a free person. Sure, there are times that I feel totally despondent about my situation, but I hold on with everything I have. That freedom is within me and there will always be an answer if I just hold on long enough. Does that mean that I’m going to be miraculously healed? Not necessarily. It means that I must find a way to not let my circumstances defeat my soul.

Then there are the opposite, people who believe they are free who really are living like zombies following the crowd and not thinking for themselves. To me they are more imprisoned then anyone else. They are being controlled by the media, the Internet, television, movies, families, and even jobs. They do not realize that they are not free inside of themselves. They have to feel an attachment to something or else they feel completely lost. More and more I see people becoming zombies as technology advances. They have no clue how to think for themselves without some influence.

People often compromise their personal freedom for the sake of having peace in a situation. It does not mean you have to argue with someone, but do you really have to go along with someone else’s program? Not if it goes against your soul. Of course there are situations where it’s best to keep silent. Nowadays too many people are keeping silent when they should be speaking up for what they feel or believe inside themselves.

How do you obtain personal freedom? That takes deep introspection and examining all parts of you, the good, the bad, the dark, and the light. All of these elements we have within us and if we do not expose our internal self to all parts of who we are we really never know who or what we are.

So the first step to personal freedom is giving up everything you have been taught or thought and spending time examining your life completely. This can often be hard because sometimes you will become more depressed at the parts of you that you feel you cannot change. Change can come when you develop the attitude that you want a personal revolution.

The only real change always comes from within. External forces cannot change your internal self. Be patient as it does take time and like a snake you have to shed the old skin to become a new person. Peeling off the layers of yourself takes time and sometimes you may want to put some of the old layers back on as they are more comfortable. Sometimes a few of those layers need to be put back on after you have discarded the negative and counter-productive layers. This is where you have to really be willing to fight the battle within to obtain personal freedom.

So are you willing and ready to become free?

No matter what your circumstances it is within you to be a free independent thinker and person. Many of the great people throughout history, who made a difference in this world, were those who chose personal freedom. They are the ones who are written about in history books and remembered by many. The person who does not become free inside is often not remembered by many because they were just like everyone else.

We can become a diamond that sheds light on the world if we are willing to step out and be free. If you can endure the pressure it takes to be that diamond, you will shine.

That is true independence!

“The most important kind of freedom is to be what you really are. You trade in your reality for a role. You trade in your sense for an act. You give up your ability to feel, and in exchange, put on a mask. There can’t be any large-scale revolution until there’s a personal revolution, on an individual level. It’s got to happen inside first.” ~ Jim Morrison